One Step Forward, Too Many Steps Back
by HieiJaganshiMate
Summary: Life has it's ups and it's downs...but for Tsukiko everything is almost different. The better things get for her, everything else gets MUCH worse. In the end, can Tsukiko get through all her troubles? Eventual HieiOC RR! Full Summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

One Step Forward, Too Many Steps Back

By: HieiJaganshiMate

AN: Well, a new story. I don't know how long it'll be, but I'll see what I can do. Hiei/OC, and sorry for any OOC's throughout the whole story.

Summary: Life has it's ups and it's downs...but for Tsukiko everything is almost different. The better things get for her, everything else gets MUCH worse. In the end, can Tsukiko get through all her troubles? Throught the tears and the pain, Tsukiko tries to get through her life as she progresses meeting all troubles through life. Love, Pain, Adventure, Hurt, and possibly death? Give this story a shot, I think it'll be worth it in the end. Hiei/OC

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Chapter 1-Tsukiko

Tsukiko Ishiyo was your almost ordinary high-school girl. Keyword: _almost._ If Tsukiko was a normal ordinary high-school girl, than we wouldn't have a story, now would we?

Students who didn't really know her that well declared Tsukiko 'ordinary'. She was beyond ordinary, y'know like….extraordinary! You see Tsukiko was born with a special ability. That's right, _special._ Tsukiko was able to control/manipulate and erase memories. Her ability was a tad bit different from the other regular memory abilities. When Tsukiko erased memories, they needed to go somewhere. And where are they supposed to go? There is only one place for them.

Tsukiko's mind. That's right. When she erased memories, everything went to her. Every moment, every emotion, everything and anything the person did, saw, heard, EVERYTHING. It was almost like stealing the person's memory, instead of erasing them.

Because of this power, Tsukiko has been plagued by these memories throughout her life, throughout her dreams.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Tsukiko lifted up her head and glanced at her madly buzzing alarm.

"Ugh…" She complained. "Make it stop…" She reached her arm over to turn it off.

One problem: her arms were both asleep, both refusing to move. The buzzing continued.

"SHUT UP!" She shouted at the alarm kicking it off the stand. It fell on the ground and broke. "Great, another thing for me to clean up. I'll do it later…" She said sleepily as she wobbled out of bed. Tsukiko walked over to her mirror and brushed her hair.

Tsukiko had long blackish blue hair, which was so soft it was considered silky. Her eyes were so blue, many people called them gray. She was beautiful. It didn't matter to Tsukiko though; she really didn't care what she looked like. She pulled her hair up into her normal ponytail.

"Oh what fun. Time for school. Whoopee." Tsukiko said to herself dully. Tsukiko went downstairs to get ready.

At School---------------------

Tsukiko walked to school by herself, as always. She walked slowly tugging at her skirt, complaining to herself of how short it was. While she was busy with her skirt dilemma, she didn't notice where she was walking until…BAM! She walked right into the front school doors, and fell backwards right onto her bottom.

"Ow…" Tsukiko said as she rubbed her now soar bottom.

"Are you alright, Ishiyo-san?" She heard a guy's voice asked. She looked up to see her classmate Suiichi Minamino, offering a hand to help her up.

"I'm fine." Tsukiko responded as she took his hand to help herself up. "Thanks, Minamino-san." She smiled at him.

"Please just call me Suiichi."

"Only if YOU call me Tsukiko." She responded.

"Alright, but I can't really guarantee anything, Ishi—err Tsukiko." The bell rang. "Well we better be getting to class. I hope to see you later Tsukiko-san."

"See ya later Suiichi!" She said running off to her first class of the day.

At End of Day (Just 'cause the whole school day is probably boring)-----------------------

Tsukiko walked out of the school, yawning.

"Finally, the end of the school day!" She said to herself.

"Hey, Tsukiko-san!" She heard a voice call behind her. Tsukiko whirled around to see who it was. It was Suiichi….

That was odd because aside from this morning, Tsukiko NEVER talked to Suiichi…..

Hm…..

"Um...Hi Suiichi? What do you want…?" Tsukiko asked a little confused.

"I'm sorry Tsukiko. Am I bothering you?" He asked.

"Oh no! It's just…well….it's nothing."

"Well then….are you busy tonight?" Suiichi asked.

Blink….Blink….'DID SUIICHI JUST ASK ME OUT!' Tsukiko's mind yelled.

"Uhmm….I'm sorry Suiichi, but I only consider you a err…..friend?" Tsukiko said.

'Am I really his friend? We don't really talk to each other that much…'

"Tsukiko, I think of you as a friend also. Let me try this again. Would you like to go out tonight as friends?" Suiichi asked, still trying to sound polite.

"Sure. Want to leave now? I've got nothing to do tonight…" Tsukiko groaned and then added, "…except homework."

"That's fine with me. My mother knows I was going out anyway, so I guess it's fine." Suiichi said with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Let's go then!" Tsukiko said smiling as she walked ahead of Suiichi. She paused for a moment and turned around. "Um…where exactly are we going?" Tsukiko asked, rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish grin.

Suiichi just chuckled and walked up to her. "We, my friend, are going to the park." Suiichi stopped smiling and put on a serious face. "We have something important to..ah…'discuss'."

Tsukiko eye's widened and she nodded hesitantly.

Tsukiko's POV (I'm better at writing like this --;)---------------------------------------

We got to the park, and Suiichi chose a secluded bench to sit down.

What the heck is going on here!

"Um…. Suiichi? What did we come here to talk about?" I asked nervously, playing with the ends of my hair.

"I know about your ability." Suiichi said, getting straight to the point. My eyes widened.

"You…do?" I asked shakily. How did he find out…?

"I've been watching you, studying you."

………I hate to think this about Suiichi, of all people, but….

…AHHHH! STALKER!

"And before you ask, no I'm not a stalker." I let out a sigh of relief. "I'm a detective."

Okay that's weird…One of my schoolmates is a detective…alright…Try to stay calm….

WHAT IS GOING ON! I don't remember doing anything illegal….at least, recently…

"Um…Suiichi…err…" I stuttered thinking of what to say. "…Um…Do you have a badge to prove this?" Suiichi shook his head no.

"I'm going to be honest to you, Tsukiko and tell you everything. I am not from this world. I am a demon, and a spirit detective also. You Tsukiko, have a special ability that Spirit World may need."

…Alrighty then…o0…

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Suiichi…err now as he told me, 'Kurama', told me everything. Makai, Ningenkai, Reikai …EVERYTHING!

And yet for some strange reason….I accept it. It doesn't seem as weird as I first thought it was.

And now here we are, standing in an office, with a little baby sitting behind the desk.

I couldn't resist…the little one was so adorable!

My first reaction? I hugged him.

"Awwww! He's so cute! Is that my job Kurama? Do I get to babysitt him?" I asked, squeezing the little baby.

Kurama attempted to stifle a laugh.

"Uh….no…." He said chuckling. Why was he laughing? What's so funny about a little kid?

"mmmfhhhhmmm…." I heard a muffled voice come from the one I was holding. I put him down.

"Excuse me, but I AM NOT A BABY, I'M NOT A TODDLER, I'M NOT A KID! I'M PROBABLY OLDER THAN YOU!" He shouted pointing at me.

"EEKK! IT TALKED!" I shouted as I pointed at it.

"IT? Excuse me but YOU'RE TALKING TO THE **_PRINCE_** OF REIKAI!"

"……Opps?" I said, face red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry?"

"Don't worry about it. He gets it all the time." Said a guy with gelled back black hair, as he slung his arm over my shoulder.

Where did he come from? ……….

I should _probably_ be more aware of my surroundings next time.

There were six other people in the room (aside from the Prince, Kurama and me) that I hadn't noticed before.

"………" I glanced at the guy who had his arm slung over my shoulder. "And who are you…?"

"Me? I'm Yusuke Urameshi. The little guy you just called a baby is Koenma, Prince of Spirit world. You already know Kurama." He said. "The blue haired girl is Botan, she's pretty much the grim reaper."

"Hello, I'm Botan!" She chirped as she enthusiastically shook my hand. Okay…somebody is hyper….

"Nice to meet you Botan, I'm Tsukiko." I smiled, shaking her hand back.

"The girl with the brown hair is Keiko, the one and only." Yusuke said.

"Hi nice to meet you Tsukiko." Keiko said politely while bowing.

"Nice to meet you too, Keiko."

"She is Yukina." He said, pointing to a shy looking girl with greenish-blueish hair.

"Hello Tsukiko-san." She said bowing.

"Hello Yukina, it's a pleasure to meet you." I responded, also bowing to her.

"The short one who has his eyes closed is Hiei, the anti-social. You'll be lucky if he evens spares you a glance." Yusuke said.

"Hn." He responded. I guess that's his way with hello…?

"Um…nice to meet you too Hiei."

"And that's about all the people you need to know." Yusuke said. I scanned the room and looked at the other faces. There was one unknown face, somebody I had yet to meet. He had some stupid orange hairstyle and he looked like he was…sleeping? I couldn't tell, his face just looked…..well stupid.

"What about him?" I asked pointing to the messed up looking one.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about his name. He responds to almost anything like 'you', or 'stupid', idiot, moron….yup just about anything." Yusuke said. "Watch this." He walked off to the weird one.

"Hey, Kuwabara!" He yelled. No response. "HEY MORON!" He yelled louder. 'Kuwabara' woke up.

"What? I wasn't sleeping!" He yelled.

"I never said you were!" Said Yusuke snickering. 'Kuwabara' looked at me.

"Uhhh….who's she?" He asked, pointing at me.

"That's Tsukiko, stupid." Yusuke answered.

Well…..this is interesting…I wonder what will happen now….?

Who knows? It doesn't matter, all I can tell is this is going to be a pretty hectic ride…

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AN: End of this chapter. Any mistakes, questions, ANYTHING! Just let me know! I hope you guys like it so far, 'cause it gets really interesting later in the story. WAAAY later. Review please! (It motivates me!) And if you want my email, be sure to ask in a review!


	2. Explaining Things

One Step Forward, Too Many Steps Back

By: HieiJaganshiMate

AN: Okay…one review for the first chapter :sweatdrop:.. The only reason I'm updating now is because I love to write.

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Tsukiko's POV

"So….um…Koenma…" I started…not really sure of what to say.

_Why_ was I here anyway?

"Why am I here with these strange people?" I asked, pointing to the colorful-hair group of people.

"Oh right! Kurama didn't tell you, did he?" Koenma asked.

"Nope, not a thing on of _why_ I'm here."

"Well Tsukiko, at _some _point in your life, you must've realized that you were different. Different from all other people." I nodded. Where was he going with this…?

"And you know about my spirit detectives…"

"And…?" I asked. How long does it take him to get to the point?

"Just spit it out tiny toddler!" Yusuke yelled at him frustrated. Koenma ignored that comment.

"Tsukiko, I want you to join the spirit detectives."

"Sure. I don't mind." Koenma stood up on his desk and looked me in the eye.

"Please, don't shrug it off as if it isn't important. Some of these missions will be deadly, some of them you will have to erase memories." I looked Koenma back with equal serious-ness.

Do I really what to take on more horrid memories?

If I want to be stronger, than I will.

"I'll do it." My own voice startled me. I didn't know I could be _that_ serious.

"Good. If you are to join this team, you need to know how to fight…unless you already know how to…?"

"I know hand-to-hand combat. I'm a fourth degree black belt in martial arts." (More specific: let's make it Tae Kwon Do)

"Weapons?" He asked.

"I know a little…mostly basics."

"Then we'll train you."

"Thank you."

"Yusuke, you will train with her in hand-to-hand combat. Hiei and Kurama, you work with her on weapons. Now that's over with…" He said sitting down in his chair. "Now onto living arrangements. Since you all will need to be working together, I decided you will all be staying together." Everybody (with the exception of some) groaned. Koenma turned and looked at me.

"Is that alright with you Tsukiko?"

"That's fine. I don't live with anyone anyway. What about food?"

"Already taken care of. Botan will be staying with you guys. She sees me the most, and I'll give her the money to pay for food, money, etc…"

"Okay."

"Get it? Got it? Good! Okay everybody you're dismissed. Botan, please go give them a portal to their new home."

"Yes sir Koenma sir!" Botan said as she opened up a portal. "Troops, MOVE OUT!" Botan shouted. (Sweatdrop;;;;) Botan stood next to the portal as everybody hopped in.

"Hiei, Botan…could you spare a moment?"

"Sure Koenma Sir!" Botan said as she closed the portal.

"Hn." Typical Hiei responded.

"Um…excuse me, but Koenma…could you hold on a minute…? May I speak to you…err…alone?"

"Sure. Hiei, Botan? Step outside for a moment." Hiei and Botan left the room. "What is it Tsukiko?"

"Koenma, I'm going to be honest. I'm afraid."

"Of dying? Don't worry, the guys will keep you safe."

"No, I'm not afraid to die. I'm afraid…. of those memories that may come…" I whispered. "All the memories I'll erase will go directly to me! I don't want that! It hurts to much!" I yelled, tears filling my eyes.

"Calm down, Tsukiko. It'll be all right. You agreed to this."

"I know but--!" The tears started running down my face.

"No buts, Tsukiko. The pain will be immense, but it _will _make you stronger." I nodded, wiping the tears away. "Hiei has the ability to erase memories to, I may be able to get him to help you. Although his ability isn't like yours. Botan can help you with the emotional pain too."

"Thank you, Koenma."

"Botan! Hiei! You can come back in now!" Botan came bounding in, but stopped when she saw my wet face and red puffy eyes.

"Are you okay, Tsukiko? Were you crying?" She asked me with concern on her face. I also noticed Hiei was casting me a curious glance.

He's probably taking note on how much a coward I am.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you anyway Botan." I said nodding to her.

"Anytime, Tsukiko!"

"Botan, could you make a portal to---" Koenma started.

"No she can wait, she can come back with us." Botan said.

"Then if you wouldn't mind, Tsukiko, could you wait outside?" Koenma asked.

"Sure." I said as I left the room.

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Normal POV

"So what is it that you want, Koenma sir?" Botan asked.

"Well it's about Tsukiko." Hiei rolled his eyes.

"No, really?" Hiei asked sarcastically. Koenma glared.

"When the time comes, Tsukiko will be erasing memories."

"Yes, we know that. Get to the point, toddler." Koenma glared at Hiei again.

"During that time, she's going to need help getting through it. That's where you two come in." He said, pointing at them. "Hiei, you will have to help her through the memories, try to ease the memory pain with your Jagan eye." Koenma paused for a second. "If you can, try to take some of the memories from her. They don't effect you like they do Tsukiko."

"Hn."

"Where do I come in, Koenma sir?" Botan inquired.

"Botan, you'll just have to be yourself. Make her feel happy, try to distract her. Have fun, you know like, have a girl's not out with the other girls." Botan nodded. "Okay, you may leave now."

Botan got Tsukiko and opened up a portal.

"And away we go!" Botan said jumping in. Hiei wordlessly went through the portal.

"Thank you Koenma." He nodded to her and Tsukiko jumped in.

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Back to Tsukiko's POV

Hmm…going through portals….something I don't think I'll EVER get use to…

I went through the portal head first, and now I am currently flying through it with my eyes closed, arms in an 'X' position in front of my face.

I came out the same way….

...and landed directly on Hiei.

I'm pretty sure I caught him off guard, 'cause he fell flat on the ground. I stood up right away, my face read from embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry!" I yelled repeatedly. Hiei quickly stood up, looking pretty ticked off. He glared at me.

"Hn. Baka onna." He said and marched off to the house.

"Geez…I said I was sorry…"

"Don't worry about Hiei, he's ALWAYS like that." Botan said. "C'mon! Let's go!" She said, taking my hand and dragging me to the new house.

Oh boy….I just KNOW there are going to be many new memories made here…

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AN: Okay! Whether I get any reviews or not, it'll be up to you guys…:sweatdrop: Please try reviewing! Any errors, comments….let me know!


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